The Communicator July/August 2015

Volume 62, No. 04

July ~ August 2015

Mackey

Boys in the Boat

S.R.R.S.

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pg 10

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Scottish Rite Communicator Valley of Seattle

www.seattle-scottishrite.org

SCOTTISH RITE OFFICERS Ill. Ronald A. Seale, 33° Sovereign Grand Commander

Ill. Alvin W. Jorgensen, 33° S:.G:.I:.G:., Orient of Washington Ill. Sat Tashiro, 33° Personal Rep. of S:.G:.I:.G:. stashiro@comcast.net Ill. Greg Goodrich, 33° General Secretary Communicator Editor secretary@seattle-scottishrite.org Ill. Norman Miller, 33° Treasurer Ill. George A. Lofthus, 33° Almoner

PRESIDING OFFICERS Ian Hyde, 32° Venerable Master, Lodge of Perfection Dantes LaHens, 32° Wise Master, Chapter of Rose Croix Glen Huff, 32° Commander, Council of Kadosh Scott Young, 32° K:.C:.C:.H:.

Master, Consistory

Seattle Scottish Rite Center 1207 N 152nd St Seattle, WA 98133-6213 206 324-3330 voice 206 324-3332 fax Brian Lorton Building Manager brian@seattle-scottishrite.org Lorna Schack Administrative Assistant lorna@seattle-scottishrite.org

The Communicator (USPS 485-660) is published by the Valley of Seattle, A&A Scottish Rite, 1207 N 152nd St., Seattle, WA 98133-6213, for the benefit of its members, bimonthly and is mailed as a non-profit publication to all members of the Valley of Seattle and to specified other interested parties. $2.00 per member is assessed for the publication of The Communicator. Periodicals postage paid at Seattle, Washington and at additional mailing offices.

The material contained within this publication is intended for the education and enjoyment of the members of the Masonic Fraternity and all material published becomes the property of Seattle Valley of Scottish Rite. Postmaster: Send address changes to — The Communicator at 1207 N 152nd St., Seattle, WA 98133-6213.

House of the temple

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he Supreme Council will be celebrating the One-hundredth anniversary of the House of The Temple on August 22nd through 25th. There will be several brethren from our Valley and other Valleys in Washington making the journey to the District of Columbia for this historic event. Registration is now open and we hope you will consider joining us there.

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he Supreme Council have already begun laying the groundwork for a festive day full of merriment, brotherhood, and history. If you are interested in attending you need to register on-line at the Supreme Council’s website. www.scottishrite.org

News from the Personal Representative

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ay and June were busy months for the Valley, as we conferred the 18th degree upon the class of 2015 in early June, had an outstanding speaker Dr. Guillermo de Los Reyes at our stated meeting on the subject of L’Enfant and Masonry’ and hosted our Grand Commander Ronald Seale on behalf of our SGIG, Illustrious Al Jorgensen.

Scottish Rite members and guests from other Valley’s, as well as members, SGIG’s and guests from other Orients were in attendance. He gave an inspiring message.

In May members of the Valley also attended ceremonies at the University of Washington and Seattle University to award Scottish Rite ROTC medals to outstanding cadets. In addition a JROTC medal was awarded to an outstanding cadet at Liberty High School.

A special appreciation of gratitude to Wise Master Dantes LeHans and his entire cast of the 18th degree, who did an outstanding job in presenting it to the class of 2015. The number of black hats participating was the largest in many years, and many had received their 32nd degree in the past two-three years.

Our 2014-2015 Grand Master, M:.W:. Sam Roberts, was at our May meeting and he gave a very thoughtful message to all those in attendance. This meeting was a great opportunity for those who had not yet met the Grand Master on his travels throughout this jurisdiction.

We are actively promoting Masonic education and providing opportunities for Masons, interested in the esoteric side of Masonry, to join us. We need the continuing assistance of our Scottish Rite brethren in spreading the word of such activities, and encouraging our fellow Master Masons, who are not yet members of our Scottish Rite, to consider us as the next step in Masonry.

The Valley of Seattle’s, School of the Ancient Rite has been a great addition to those desiring a deeper insight into our Masonic teachings. A SOTAR forum was held in late June, with a speaker on ‘The Meaning of Life’.

Another variation to on-site speakers has been the introduction of Webinars, with the talk being viewed on the web by attendees. All Scottish Rite members are urged to access the Scottish Rite web page for the yearly schedule.

The meetings of our two new clubs, one in the Southend of King County meeting at Verity Lodge, and the other in the East side meeting at Bellevue Masonic Center, was held in late June. We look forward to a bright future with these clubs. Please contact the Valley office for further information.

We want to wish the members a very safe and happy summer. The Scottish Rite office will be open but the activities of the Valley will be limited to an ExCo meeting in August, followed by an ExCo meeting and the performance of the 12th and 30th degree on September 12.

Fraternally, Sat Tashiro, 33° Personal Representative of the S:.G:.I:.G:.

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ummer is here and the Valley has recessed for the summer months. However, that does not mean we are not busy working on projects and continuing with member education.

The Valley is busy planning degrees and booking speakers to ensure that we continue to provide education and live up to our promise to be “The University of Freemasonry”.

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his past June our Valley was honored to host Illustrious Ronald A. Seale, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander. A grand banquet was held in his honor while he was in Seattle for the Annual Assembly of the Red Cross of Constantine, of which our Past S.G.I.G., Illustrious William R. Miller, 33° was presiding as the Most Illustrious Grand Sovereign. Our PR, Ill. Sat Tashiro, 33° presented Ill. Brother Seale with a gift from the Valley consisting of a custom Seattle Scottish Rite Cuff link set and Tie Bar, of which he proudly wore during the Black Tie Banquet the following Saturday Night for the Red Cross of Constantine. Ill. Brother Seale toured our Temple and made several comments on how beautiful it was. He was especially pleased with the popularity of the Members Lounge after our meetings.

Fraternally, Greg Goodrich, 33° General Secretary

S.G.C. Ron Seale, 33° and S.G.I.G. Al Jorgensen, 33° at the Orient of Washington dinner hosted by Seattle Scottish Rite on June 4, 2015.

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Helping Children Communicate. This is the objective of Rite Care. In Seattle we have two speech pathologists who serve 25 children from ages 2-7 with speech difficulties. Both Jackie Brown, director of the Seattle Clinic, and Barbara McKague have been helping these children to speak for over 30 years, with many stories of successes. We continue to need your support! Although the Scottish Rite Masons of the Orient contribute, through their dues, to the support of Rite Care, the need is many times more than the current assessment.

Support the fund-raisers for Rite Care. We will have just completed the 2015 Beer Fest, the third annual fund raiser, and will be seeking your help as we go forth in other fund-raising efforts this year.

The service is provided at no cost to these young children and their parents. Some volunteer their monies and time depending upon their abilities. Please visit our website www.ritecarewa.org for further details. We are a 501(c)3 not for profit organization and all contributions are tax deductible.

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by: Albert G. Mackey, M.D. (1882) nother ritualistic symbolism, of still more importance and interest, is the rite of investiture.

The rite of investiture, called, in the colloquially technical language of the order, the ceremony of clothing, brings us at once to the consideration of that well-known symbol of Freemasonry, the LAMB-SKIN APRON. This rite of investiture, or the placing upon the aspirant some garment, as an indication of his appropriate preparation for the ceremonies in which he was about to engage, prevailed in all the ancient initiations. A few of them only it will be requisite to consider.

Thus in the Levitical economy of the Israelites the priests always wore the abnet, or linen apron, or girdle, as a part of the investiture of the priesthood. This, with the other garments, was to be worn, as the text expresses it, “for glory and for beauty,” or, as it has been explained by a learned commentator, “as emblematical of that holiness and purity which ever characterize the divine nature, and the worship which is worthy of him.”

In the Persian Mysteries of Mithras, the candidate, having first received light, was invested with a girdle, a crown or mitre, a purple tunic, and, lastly, a white apron.

In the initiations practised in Hindostan, in the ceremony of investiture was substituted the sash, or sacred zennaar, consisting of a cord, composed of nine threads twisted into a knot at the end, and hanging from the left shoulder to the right hip. This was, perhaps, the type of the masonic scarf, which is, or ought to be, always worn in the same position.

The Jewish sect of the Essenes, who approached nearer than any other secret institution of antiquity to Freemasonry in their organization, always invested their novices with a white robe.

And, lastly, in the Scandinavian rites, where the military genius of the people had introduced a warlike species of initiation, instead of the apron we find the candidate receiving a white shield, which was, however, always presented with the accompaniment of some symbolic instruction, not very dissimilar to that which is connected with the masonic apron.

In all these modes of investiture, no matter what was the material or the form, the symbolic signification intended to be conveyed was that of purity. And hence, in Freemasonry, the same symbolism is communicated by the apron, which, because it is the first gift which the aspirant receives,—the first symbol in which he is instructed,— has been called the “badge of a mason.” And most appropriately has it been so called; for, whatever may be the future advancement of the candidate in the “Royal Art,” into whatever deeper arcana his devotion to the mystic institution or his thirst for knowledge may carry him, with the apron—his first investiture—he never parts.

Changing, perhaps, its form and its decorations, and conveying at each step some new and beautiful allusion, its substance is still there, and it continues to claim the honorable title by which it was first made known to him on the night of his initiation.

The apron derives its significance, as the symbol of purity, from two sources—from its color and from its material.

In each of these points of view it is, then, to be considered, before its symbolism can be properly appreciated.

And, first, the color of the apron must be an unspotted white. This color has, in all ages, been esteemed an emblem

Page 7 of innocence and purity. It was with reference to this symbolism that a portion of the vestments of the Jewish priesthood was directed to be made white. And hence Aaron was commanded, when he entered into the holy of holies to make an expiation for the sins of the people, to appear clothed in white linen, with his linen apron, or girdle, about his loins. It is worthy of remark that the Hebrew word LABAN, which signifies to make white, denotes also to purify; and hence we find, throughout the Scriptures, many allusions to that color as an emblem of purity. “Though thy sins be as scarlet,” says Isaiah, “they shall be white as snow;” and Jeremiah, in describing the once innocent condition of Zion, says, “Her Nazarites were purer than snow; they were whiter than milk.”

In the Apocalypse a white stone was the reward promised by the Spirit to those who overcame; and in the same mystical book the apostle is instructed to say, that fine linen, clean and white, is the righteousness of the saints.

In the early ages of the Christian church a white garment was always placed upon the catechumen who had been recently baptized, to denote that he had been cleansed from his former sins, and was thenceforth to lead a life of innocence and purity. Hence it was presented to him with this appropriate charge: “Receive the white and undefiled garment, and produce it unspotted before the tribunal of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you may obtain immortal life.”

The white alb still constitutes a part of the vestments of the Roman church, and its color is said by Bishop England “to excite to piety by teaching us the purity of heart and body which we should possess in being present at the holy mysteries.”

The heathens paid the same attention to the symbolic signification of this color. The Egyptians, for instance, decorated the head of their principal deity, Osiris, with a white tiara, and the priests wore robes of the whitest linen.

In the school of Pythagoras, the sacred hymns were chanted by the disciples clothed in garments of white. The Druids gave white vestments to those of their initiates who had arrived at the ultimate degree, or that of perfection. And this was intended, according to their ritual, to teach the aspirant that none were admitted to that honor but such as were cleansed from all impurities, both of body and mind.

In all the Mysteries and religions rites of the other nations of antiquity the same use of white garments was observed.

Portal, in his “Treatise on Symbolic Colors,” says that “white, the symbol of the divinity and of the priesthood, represents divine wisdom; applied to a young girl, it denotes virginity; to an accused person, innocence; to a judge, justice;” and he adds—what in reference to its use in Masonry will be peculiarly appropriate—that, “as a characteristic sign of purity, it exhibits a promise of hope after death.” We see, therefore, the propriety of adopting this color in the masonic system as a symbol of purity. This symbolism pervades the whole of the ritual, from the lowest to the highest degree, wherever white vestments or white decorations are used.

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s to the material of the apron, this is imperatively required to be of lamb-skin. No other substance, such as linen, silk, or satin, could be substituted without entirely destroying the symbolism of the vestment. Now, the lamb has, as the ritual expresses it, “been, in all ages, deemed an emblem of innocence;” but more particularly in the Jewish and Christian churches has this symbolism been observed. Instances of this need hardly be cited.

They abound throughout the Old Testament, where we learn that a lamb was selected by the Israelites for their sin and burnt offerings, and in the New, where the word lamb is almost constantly employed as synonymous with innocence. “The paschal lamb,” says Didron, “which was eaten by the Israelites on the night preceding their departure, is the type of that other divine Lamb, of whom Christians are to partake at Easter, in order thereby to free themselves from the bondage in which they are held by vice.” The paschal lamb, a lamb bearing a cross, was, therefore, from an early period, depicted by the Christians as referring to Christ crucified, “that spotless Lamb of God, who was slain from the foundation of the world.”

Page 8 he material, then, of the apron, unites with its color to give to the investiture of a mason the symbolic signification of purity. This, then, together with the fact which I have already shown, that the ceremony of investiture was common to all the ancient religious rites, will form another proof of the identity of origin between these and the masonic institution.

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This symbolism also indicates the sacred and religious character which its founders sought to impose upon Freemasonry, and to which both the moral and physical qualifications of our candidates undoubtedly have a reference, since it is with the masonic lodge as it was with the Jewish church, where it was declared that “no man that had a blemish should come nigh unto the altar;” and with the heathen priesthood, among whom we are told that it was thought to be a dishonor to the gods to be served by any one that was maimed, lame, or in any other way imperfect; and with both, also, in requiring that no one should approach the sacred things who was not pure and uncorrupt.

The pure, unspotted lamb-skin apron is, then, in Masonry, symbolic of that perfection of body and purity of mind which are essential qualifications in all who would participate in its sacred mysteries. The rite of circumambulation will supply us with another ritualistic symbol, in which we may again trace the identity of the origin of Freemasonry with that of the religious and mystical ceremonies of the ancients. “Circumambulation” is the name given by sacred archaeologists to that religious rite in the ancient initiations which consisted in a formal procession around the altar, or other holy and consecrated object.

The prevalence of this rite among the ancients appears to have been universal, and it originally (as I shall have occasion to show) alluded to the apparent course of the sun in the firmament, which is from east to west by the way of the south.

In ancient Greece, when the priests were engaged in the rites of sacrifice, they and the people always walked three times around the altar while chanting a sacred hymn or ode. Sometimes, while the people stood around the altar, the rite of circumambulation was performed by the priest alone, who, turning towards the right hand, went around it, and sprinkled it with meal and holy water. In making this circumambulation, it was considered absolutely necessary that the right side should always be next to the altar, and consequently, that the procession should move from the east to the south, then to the west, next to the north, and afterwards to the east again. It was in this way that the apparent revolution was represented.

This ceremony the Greeks called moving εϗ δεξια εν δεξια, from the right to the right, which was the direction of the motion, and the Romans applied to it the term dextrovorsum, or dextrorsum, which signifies the same thing.

Thus Plautus makes Palinurus, a character in his comedy of “Curculio,” say, “If you would do reverence to the gods, you must turn to the right hand.” Gronovius, in commenting on this passage of Plautus, says, “In worshipping and praying to the gods they were accustomed to turn to the right hand.”

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hymn of Callimachus has been preserved, which is said to have been chanted by the priests of Apollo at Delos, while performing this ceremony of circumambulation, the substance of which is, “We imitate the example of the sun, and follow his benevolent course.” It will be observed that this circumambulation around the altar was accompanied by the singing or chanting of a sacred ode. Of the three parts of the ode, the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode, each was to be sung at a particular part of the procession. The analogy between this chanting of an ode by the ancients and the recitation of a passage of Scripture in the masonic circumambulation, will be at once apparent.

Among the Romans, the ceremony of circumambulation was always used in the rites of sacrifice, of expiation or purification. Thus Virgil describes Corynasus as purifying his companions, at the funeral of Misenus, by passing three times around them while aspersing them with the lustral waters; and to do so conveniently, it was necessary that he should have moved with his right hand towards them.

“Idem ter socios pura circumtulit unda, Spargens rore levi et ramo felicis olivæ.” Æn. vi. 229.

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“Thrice with pure water compassed he the crew, Sprinkling, with olive branch, the gentle dew.”

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n fact, so common was it to unite the ceremony of circumambulation with that of expiation or purification, or, in other words, to make a circuitous procession, in performing the latter rite, that the term lustrare, whose primitive meaning is “to purify,” came at last to be synonymous with circuire, to walk round anything; and hence a purification and a circumambulation were often expressed by the same word.

Among the Hindoos, the same rite of circumambulation has always been practised. As an instance, we may cite the ceremonies which are to be performed by a Brahmin upon first rising from bed in the morning, an accurate account of which has been given by Mr. Colebrooke in the “Asiatic Researches.” The priest, having first adored the sun while directing his face to the east, then walks towards the west by the way of the south, saying, at the same time, “I follow the course of the sun,” which he thus explains: “As the sun in his course moves round the world by the way of the south, so do I follow that luminary, to obtain the benefit arising from a journey round the earth by the way of the south.” 93 Lastly, I may refer to the preservation of this rite among the Druids, whose “mystical dance” around the cairn, or sacred stones, was nothing more nor less than the rite of circumambulation. On these occasions the priest always made three circuits, from east to west, by the right hand, around the altar or cairn, accompanied by all the worshippers. And so sacred was the rite once considered, that we learn from Toland94 that in the Scottish Isles, once a principal seat of the Druidical religion, the people “never come to the ancient sacrificing and fire-hallowing cairns, but they walk three times around them, from east to west, according to the course of the sun.” This sanctified tour, or round by the south, he observes, is called Deiseal, as the contrary, or unhallowed one by the north, is called Tuapholl. And he further remarks, that this word Deiseal was derived “from Deas, the right (understanding hand) and soil, one of the ancient names of the sun, the right hand in this round being ever next the heap.”

I might pursue these researches still further, and trace this rite of circumambulation to other nations of antiquity; but I conceive that enough has been said to show its universality, as well as the tenacity with which the essential ceremony of performing the motion a mystical number of times, and always by the right hand, from the east, through the south, to the west, was preserved. And I think that this singular analogy to the same rite in Freemasonry must lead us to the legitimate conclusion, that the common source of all these rites is to be found in the identical origin of the Spurious Freemasonry or pagan mysteries, and the pure, Primitive Freemasonry, from which the former seceded only to be deteriorated.

In reviewing what has been said on this subject, it will at once be perceived that the essence of the ancient rite consisted in making the circumambulation around the altar, from the east to the south, from the south to the west, thence to the north, and to the east again.

Now, in this the masonic rite of circumambulation strictly agrees with the ancient one.

But this circuit by the right hand, it is admitted, was done as a representation of the sun’s motion. It was a symbol of the sun’s apparent course around the earth.

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nd so, then, here again we have in Masonry that old and often-repeated allusion to sun-worship, which has already been seen in the officers of a lodge, and in the point within a circle. And as the circumambulation is made around the lodge, just as the sun was supposed to move around the earth, we are brought back to the original symbolism with which we commenced—that the lodge is a symbol of the world.

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Boys In The Boat And Those Who Cheered Them On

by: Mac Macdonald, 32°

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f you haven’t read “Boys In The Boat” by Daniel James Brown, the true and wonderfully-written story about the University of Washington Crew team that, against all odds - including cheating on the part of the Nazis, and rowing with only seven and a half rowers in the boat - won the Eight Man crew race during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, then you must. While reading the story I thought, hey, dad was the Yell King at that time (head cheerleader) and I have his yearbooks. (What are the odds someone would have the exact years of that outstanding feat at his fingertips?) Here are some pictures of the time. If you want to hear how Mrs. Blethen of the Seattle Times cheated to get my father elected as head cheerleader read on, it is a humorous story. Dad became a favorite of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s well-known sports writer Royal Brougham, UW coach and mentor-to-many Hec Edmundson, Mrs. Blethen, and the whole student body.

As I was researching my own father’s participation in that stupendous Hitler-frustrating effort, I began to think that the members of that year’s various university crew teams would be at the age when many were petitioning to join the Masons. World War 2 had just ended. How many, I wondered, became Masons? They had graduated in 1937 and 1938 at the age of 20 or 21. The huge call-up to fight on two fronts was in 1942. When the wars finished that would place them in the age range of 27-30, an age and a time when men were packing our Lodges.

I went down to new University Place Grand Lodge Masonic building south of Tacoma and spoke with Todd Johnstone, Washington Masonry’s walking encyclopedia and keeper of the historical flame, and his assistant Richard Price. He showed me the vast index files containing the names and records of those who have ever been amongst our midst. If we found the name, or a similar one in the first set of index files, we then had to cross reference it with their Lodge files, files that reside in entirely different drawers. (Things have since been computerized but only since the 1960’s so it is an arduous back-straining task). Our research paid dividends.

Many names corresponded with dates of their raising. For example John DeVore of the Crew who was from Centralia is shown on the Centralia #63 roles. George Lund raised in 1944 Lodge #203. Wilbur Washburn was raised in the same Lodge as his Father, Arcana #87 of Seattle, Bill Shannon also of Arcana, Stanley Field of Burlington #254. Stanley Mills might have been with St. John’s #9. We found Robert Ingram in Naches Lodge #211, Sam Mills in Clarke Lodge #236 (Camas), and Stuart Smith in Anchorage Lodge #221. Were they the same “Boys” in that boat? It doesn’t really matter.

Men of their age were petitioning Masonry right and left, and for a variety of reasons. For one they wanted the connection with other like-minded men of character. For another they wanted to participate in building a more just world having learned that Masonry acts as a bulwark against the kind of tyranny they had just faced. Thirdly they wanted to help in the strengthening of community both local and national, and fourth, they wanted to discover the light that Masonry sheds on life’s deeper meaning.

And back to the reason I began this quest...

1934. A basketball game between the University of Washington and Central Washington University then known as Washington State Normal School. The outcome was not in doubt. The University of Washington was a powerhouse. Central was, well, it was a teachers and school administrators college not known for its athletics, at least against the larger schools. Mrs. Blethen, the matriarch of the “Seattle Times” was attending the game.

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ight up until ten minutes before game time the entire center section of Central’s bleachers remained empty, unoccupied, void of students. All of a sudden out of doors came the sound of a bass drum, then a snare drum.

With two loud beats on the bass, then two on the snare, in came the students. Dressed in the crimson and black school colors, black skirts or pants and crimson blouses or shirts, on every down beat of the bass the students

Page 11 waved twice downwards something no one had seen before, some sort of school-colored streamers (later known as pom poms), and then lifting their arms waved those streamers twice at the upbeat of the snares. In that manner, back rows first they filed in, two beats down with the streamers and two up until they filled the bleachers. Just before the opening whistle a cheerleader known as “Scotty” bellowed through his megaphone, “Lean to the left, lean to the right, stand up sit down fight fight fight” and then a thunderous roar.

Of course WA Normal lost the game, but even in defeat the student body cheered their team. And then to the surprise of Mrs. Blethen and the visiting members of the University of Washington fans, they cheered the victors, all in a creative fashion. I say creative because not only had many of the cheer routines never been seen before; they had just been invented days before during cheerleading practice.

Mrs. Blethen was aghast. Never had she seen such spirit nor class. More so she was impressed by the creativity and she wanted the same for the University of Washington. She asked the athletic director who it was responsible for the joy and unbridled spirit she had just witnessed. He told her, “Oh that’s Keith Macdonald, he’s known as ‘Scotty’. Though he’s only a sophomore he’s our head cheerleader. He comes up with routines that surprise us every game and everybody follows him. The coaches love him”.

Mrs. Blethen asked him if he wouldn’t ask Keith to make a trip over to Seattle and meet with her. My dad, who I am talking about here, and his best friend Karl Jensen, a gymnast on my dad’s squad, (later Superintendent of the Highline School District) drove over the next weekend to see her.

Mrs. Blethen, “in her big office at the newspaper” according to Karl, “cut right to the chase”. She asked, “How would you like to be the head cheerleader here at the University of Washington and on a full-ride scholarship?”

My dad replied, “I’d be thrilled at the opportunity but there are several problems: Number One, it is an elected position and being from Olympia I know perhaps twenty students that attend here. Second, it is a position totally controlled by fraternities and sororities, and I’m not a Greek. Third it is a Senior position and I’ll only be a Junior.

Fourth, in order to even be considered for the Varsity Yell Squad you have to have been on the junior varsity squad and be known and trusted by the other cheerleaders. In a nutshell, I don’t have any weight for winning an election there, zero.”

Mrs. Blethen looked him hard in the eye not countenancing any lack of possibility-thinking and said matter of factly, “Keith, do you want the job or not?” continued on next page

Page 12 Out of the some 9000 enrollment (40,000 today) dad won the election by over 200 votes, shocking hell out of the existing powers to say the least. Mrs. Blethen obviously carried a ton of weight as a donor and supporter of the university and had convinced the hierarchy this is what she wanted and more so what the university needed.

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t was a trust well placed. Dad went on to become one of the most popular yell kings in the history of the U of WA and even the most quoted. He was the only person ever in the history of the U of WA to receive an athletic scholarship for cheerleading. At the outset, there was bitterness and bewilderment on the cheerleading team but my dad’s enthusiasm and “the creative cheer routines that seemed to just pop out of his head” won them over.

He even advised the student body how to handle issues caused by “the townies”, those rowdy fans coming to the campus from downtown to attend various games. (Remember, in the nineteen thirties there were still forests, and stumps of forest separating downtown Seattle and the University District.)

During the nineteen seventies and eighties older people would come up to me upon learning I was his son and some, even now leaning with a shaking hand on their cane and speaking through a diminished amount of teeth will say, “Your dad, your Dad! Da Wave was nuttin’. What your dad got us to do was amazing; and all he had was a megaphone!”

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e went on to form cheerleading camps around the nation before beginning his coaching and teaching career both in schools and for the Navy as a trainer. Later as Superintendent of Parks and Recreation in the Bay Area and Las Vegas where, according to many, he “brought culture and community to a place pretty much devoid of it”, he dreamt up the ideas of day camps, (Karl and he formed Camp Waskowitz up here in the Snoqualmie area), junior symphony orchestras, clown clubs, and of course, the Santa Claus routines I still use. Cool huh? In no small measure he let the boys in the boat know they were loved and admired.

Mac Alexander Macdonald is a corporate trainer and author of the book, “Lighting Your Own Fuse – A Glossary of Mission, Vision, and Passion”. He is a member of the Valley of Seattle and Lodge Alba No. 315.

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The Seven Liberal Arts A

s the Orient’s Chairman for the Scottish Rite Research Society (SRRS) it’s my responsibility to periodically send out Trestle Board articles to encourage membership. I think over the last couple years we have covered some of the reasons why you might benefit from membership in the society, and I know some brethren have taken the plunge and joined. One of the challenges of promoting an organization like the SRRS is that it is very different from most Masonic bodies. It offers no degrees, has no dinners and no meetings; in short it has none of the trappings of your usual Masonic organization.

Why? I think its because the scholar’s journey is a quiet solitary one. The true scholar explores, maps and reports on what lays beyond the horizon of common knowledge. He would shine a light on all the dark and unknown places that others might someday benefit.

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asonry has encouraged scholarship from its earliest days. All Masons have been encouraged to study the seven liberal arts and sciences, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, Astronomy, Rhetoric, Logic, and Grammar.

The first four are known as the Quadrivium (the four roads), the later three are called the Trivium (the three roads) and have been the basis of a Western education since the earliest days of Western civilization. An early example of the seven liberal arts is found in Marcus Terentius Varro’s (116-27 BC) work The Nine Books of Discipline. In this work he added two other subjects to the list, architecture and medicine. Later in 789 AD the Emperor Charlemagne issued an edict established a monastic and cathedral school system that would teach these subjects to their students and that resulted in what is called the Carolingian Renaissance. The value of the study of these seven subjects is best presented by Robert Grosseteste, (1175-1253 AD), in his work De artibus liberalibus in which he said, “The seven liberal arts act as a purgative of errors and gave direction to the mind.” What did Grosseteste mean by that? He meant that an education in the fundamental arts and sciences disciplined the mind, empowering it to see through false beliefs and concepts to the truth. Truth is in many ways synonymous with Masonic Light, and that is why we, as Masons, teach the value of the seven liberal arts.

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f you feel you are ready for the challenges of the scholar’s path, if you think you have the courage to look into the dark and unknown places, if you can see the truth that is often concealed in what is considered common knowledge, then maybe the SRRS is for you. If Masonry is to stay a vital and influential part of our society we need scholars, we need you.

Fraternally, W:. B:. Mike Priddy, 32° Committee Chairmen, SRRS Orient of Washington

For more information about the SRRS: http://scottishriteresearch.com or contact me at: gpriddy@aol.com Please put SRRS in the subject line.

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Book Donation

his past May, Brother Tom Lamb, 32° KCCH made a generous donation of 85 books to the Valley Library. The positive impact of his donation to our Valley and its members will make a lasting impression for all those who glimpse into the knowledge imparted in the books he has donated. The collection consists of mostly modern books ranging from Craft to Scottish Rite to Royal Arch. Including several recent books from the Scottish Rite Research Society.

Our Valley Library is open to all members during normal business hours and also during and after our stated meetings. I encourage all those who are interested to stop in and take a look.

Thanks again to Bro. Lamb for his generous donation!

Will you accept the Challenge?

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he Valley of Seattle is engaged in the Supreme Council’s Valley Membership Achievement Program or VMAP. Among several items the program is meant to engage, membership is a major priority. As with any organization, we need members to survive and grow. The Supreme Council is awarding those brethren that bring in either a new member or is able to reinstate an old member by gifting you a beautiful Challenge Coin to any brother that assists in this endeavour. The coin is 1.75” round and is a proud reminder of your contribution towards our Valley’s growth.

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s your Secretary, I am here to assist you in this endeavour. Once you have identified a brother that is either interested in joining the Scottish Rite (new member) or coming back to Scottish Rite (reinstatement), I will mail them or you a membership packet for the interested brother. In addition, if you are the first line signer on two petitions this year, you will receive an additional gift of a custom Seattle Scottish Rite Jacket. For more information on the program please call the Valley office or send an e-mail to the General Secretary. Will you accept the challenge?

Membership coin from the Supreme Council given to all first line signers for new or returning members.

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Messages Happy Birthday!

Congratulations from all your Scottish Rite brethren to our members over 90 who have reached a very important birthday!

July

Marvin Jackson Robert Freimund Leonard Abelson John Frodesen James Farrington Russell Rogers John Jones Harold Kusulos Donald Jenkins Joseph James John Howard Amos Chapman

August

Thomas Constant Virgil Mudd John Christensen Bill Harris Marwin Holm Bertil Carlson Gerald Bryson Richard Mecartea William Broadhead David Belvin Joseph Roundhill John Larson Glenn Bailey Charles Draper

Lodge of Sorrow Our brethren lie before us, overtaken by that relentless fate which, sooner or later, is to overtake us all..

Virtus Junxit Mors Non Separabit Glenn Baker 02/22/2015 Richard Horman 04/26/2015 Leroy E. Kolb 06/01/2015

Harold R. McAllister 04/18/2015

Charles Schuetz 04/15/2015 Andrew Warner 05/10/2015

Page 16 Scottish Rite of Freemasonry 1207 N 152nd Street Shoreline, WA 98133-6247

Periodicals Postage Paid USPS 485-660

Schedule of Events www.seattle-scottishrite.org

July 2015

Thursday July 30th 6:30 pm South End Scottish Rite Club (Verity Lodge)

August 2015 Saturday August 1st

9:00 am

Executive Council

Saturday August 15th

10:30-12:00 pm

RiteCare Clothes Drive (Parking Lot)

No Stated meetings in June, July & August

Scottish Rite Members Lounge (Great friends. Great Chats. Great Drinks.)

After all stated meetings stop in the membership lounge for further fellowship. Have a glass of wine or a pint of fresh poured draught.

Come in and see what’s on tap!

This is a great place to catch up with members after meetings, discuss ritual and enjoy the fellowship and all that the Seattle Scottish Rite has to offer.